His father was an agricultural carpenter and builder, particularly of corn-drying silos for farmers, and his mother worked at Walkern Hall; the family lived at the estate lodge, where Camp remained until his mother's death in 1973, at which time he moved to London.
[2] Camp was educated at Alleyne's Grammar School in Stevenage, and at University College London, where he took a BA with honours in Ancient and Medieval History.
He oversaw the first weekend course in genealogy in 1965, and played a major role in development of regular publishing and a bookshop at the Society.
Camp played a leading part in the foundation of the Association of Genealogists and Record Agents in 1968, serving as vice-president from 1980 to 2011, and elected a Fellow in 2011.
For many years he served as External Assessor for the University of London's courses in Genealogy and the History of the Family organised at Birkbeck College.